Month in China to travel

[cliveface96]

I'm doing an exchange at Peking Uni in July but I'm arriving in China in early June. I'm more interested in natural landscapes so I'm probably going to catch the fast train down to Kunming when I get there and explore Yunnan a bit. I want to do the Tiger Leaping Gorge walk but haven't really got anything else planned?

Can anyone else recommend some other places to check out? 

[889]

It's a long way from Beijing to that part of Yunnan, but if you want to do it, then the Nujiang valley is also very interesting.

 

Myself, I'd suggest you consider instead the Tibetan regions of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai: dramatic landscapes at every turn. And distinctive, especially in Gansu and Qinghai. Yunnan is nice, but nothing about the landscapes really screams "China" like the landscapes of Qinghai and Gansu (and Guangxi).

[imron]

What visa are you coming in on?  Depending on the visa you may need to convert it to a residence permit within a certain timeframe of entering the country.  This could put a serious dint in any travel plans you have.

[cliveface96]

Hi, 

Thanks for the recommendations @889, I'm going to look into it.

@imron, thanks for the heads up lol, I hope not :/. It's an x2 visa, will it be an issue? 

[889]

Also, know that flights in China can be much cheaper than high-speed rail. Beijing to Kunming is about 1150RMB by high-speed rail, but if you're flexible and book a bit ahead you can fly for around half that.

[imron]

1 hour ago, cliveface96 said:

It's an x2 visa, will it be an issue?

You're in luck! For the x-visa class it only applies to x1 and not x2 visas.

[艾墨本]

As someone who has been living in Gansu for the past two years, it's great here. I love it. The landscape is beautiful, but if you want incredible landscapes, head south to the Tibetan side of Sichuan as recommended above. However, my personal favorite is hiking the famous mountains like Hua Mountain, Huang Mountain, Jiuhua Mountain, etc. I've heard only great things of Tiger Leaping Gorge as well.

 

A great place for inspiration is reddit.com/r/earthporn and search for China. See what looks appealing to you.

[abcdefg]

Lots to see and do in Yunnan. I'll try to locate some previous discussions, and direct you to them for more ideas.

 

Here's one for starters. https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/48011-suggestions-on-kunming-and-yunnan/